cradle
/ˈkɹeɪdəl/ noun, verb
Forms cradles cradling cradled
- noun A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinging on pivots.
- noun (figuratively) The place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence. “a cradle of crime”
- noun (figuratively) Infancy, or very early life. “from the cradle to the grave”
- noun An implement consisting of a broad scythe for cutting grain, with a set of long fingers parallel to the scythe, designed to receive the grain, and to lay it evenly in a swath.
- noun A tool used in mezzotint engraving, which, by a rocking motion, raises burrs on the surface of the plate, so as to prepare the ground.
- noun A framework of timbers, or iron bars, moving upon ways or rollers, used to support, lift, or carry ships or other vessels, heavy guns, etc., as up an inclined plane, or across a strip of land, or in launching a ship.
- noun A case for a broken or dislocated limb.
- noun A frame to keep the bedclothes from contact with the sensitive parts of an injured person.
- verb (transitive) To contain in or as if in a cradle.
- verb (transitive) To rock (a baby to sleep).
- verb (transitive) To wrap protectively, to hold gently and protectively. “cradling the injured man’s head in her arms”
- verb To lull or quieten, as if by rocking.
- verb To nurse or train in infancy.
- verb (lacrosse) To rock the lacrosse stick back and forth in order to keep the ball in the head by means of centrifugal force.
- verb To cut and lay (grain) with a cradle.
- verb To transport a vessel by means of a cradle.
Synonyms
rocker rest birthplace place of origin provenance provenience
Etymology
From Middle English cradel, credel, from Old English cradol, from Proto-West Germanic *kradul, from Proto-Germanic *kradulaz, from Proto-Germanic *kradô (“(wicker) basket”). Related to cart.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A bed or cot for a baby, oscillating on rockers or swinginng on pivots; hence, the place of origin, or in which anything is nurtured or protected in the earlier period of existence; as, a cradle of crime; the cradle of liberty.
- noun Infancy, or very early life.
- verb To lay to rest, or rock, as in a cradle; to lull or quiet, as by rocking.
- verb To nurse or train in infancy.
Etymology [AS. cradel, cradol, prob. from Celtic; cf. Gael. creathall, Ir. craidhal, W. cryd a shaking or rocking, a cradle; perh. akin to E. crate.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “cradle”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details